The Android Effect
by skyrumen818
Summary: Years after Humanity has joined the galactic stage, they still linger on the effects of the Android Genocide. But Shepard needs a team, and when the galaxy hangs in the balance the Illusive Man isn't going to let it be picky about whether they're human or not.
1. Chapter 1

The Illusive Man knew the Normandy would need all the help it could get. There was no doubt that Shepard would put together a remarkable team, she had the tenacity and leadership for it, but finding suitable candidates was another. They had to be the right ones.

Going through dossiers of potential candidates was a tedious task, but one he trusted only himself to do. The flagged files dwindled, most going into the useless folder, some into the 'useful, but not for this mission' folder, and a scarce few that he would eventually send to Shepard once they had more intel.

A comm message beeped on his omnitool for a priority watch. Cerberus had set priority watch to certain names and phrases when first established, and sorted the facts accordingly (they were an intelligence operation first and foremost). For something to have notified him was big.

"Breaking: Release of Elijah Kamski's Estate to Earth Alliance for Museum Use."

The Illusive Man sucked in a breath. And released it.

Elijah Kamski.

The man was the most noted genius of the 21st century, having created mankind greatest creation. Then had to watch as mankind destroyed his life's work. The Android Revolution. The Android Genocide. Anything related to the man or Cyberlife was flagged for investigation.

Since the Android Revolution, mankind had not been receptive to anything more than a VI with strict instruction codes. All Cyberlife products that weren't immediately destroyed following the companies business failure in the wake of the Android Revolution, were impounded by the US Department of Defense and Homeland Security. Around the world, governments had systematically sought out androids and destroyed them. Any technology recovered from Cyberlife factories was still jealously guarded.

Kamski eventually made a deal with the US Government, that in exchange for his help on going through the findings from Cyberlife, he would be able to keep one android to take care of his estate in the wake of his absence, and that he be able to take one Cyberlife product for himself. There was much arguing on the point that his android was already from Cyberlife, but the Government relented eventually.

Kamski requested the destroyed body of the RK800 prototype.

The Deviant Hunter.

The android that, had it not gone deviant, would have changed the tide of the revolution. That did change the tide, just not for the masters.

But who were the masters now?

Many had tried to access the Kamski Estate throughout the decades. They were all rebuffed, declined, and in a few cases shot at (the Estate has remarkable security measures). To top it off, upon his death bed, Kamski left everything to his Chloe android. The public outcry to this could have been heard from the Citadel. No one could trust an android. What no one predicted, was that the android would input it's own deactivation code, ten years to the day of Kamski's death. A code with a built in self destruct sequence. The mess had delayed the catalogue of the Estate for weeks.

The body of the RK800 would be brought to a security warehouse for a complete meltdown, while a replica would go the Museum of Earth History with everything else from the estate. That was the official statement. A nicely wrapped package for the public to see. Who knew what state the RK800 would be in. According to intel, Thirium only lasted a few hours outside an androids body, but they never shriveled up.

The Illusive Man pondered the intel. However…

He looked again. The body of the RK800 was being moved off world. Off world? If the body of the RK800 was unusable, why move it off world? Unless it wasn't. Unless something had happened to it.

After all, who better to repair an android in secret than their creator?

* * *

Dossier: RK800, The Deviant Hunter

The RK800 Android, better known as the Deviant Hunter, successfully tracked down criminally deviant androids before and during the Android Revolution. His skills included tracking, combat capabilities, and interspecies relations. His body is being moved from Earth to the Moon Base for further study.

* * *

Shepard had seen and heard a lot in her time. Becoming the first human spectre, hunting down another spectre, being shot at by a race of sentient machines, being killed, and then being resurrected by a human terrorist organization tended to put things into a certain perspective. When Cerberus sent her dossiers, she usually took them with a grain of salt. Garrus had been a pleasant surprise, and the other crew members weren't bad. She got along with almost everyone. So when she received the dossier, she read. Shook her head, and read it again. Then immediately opened a link to The Illusive Man.

"I take it you received the new dossier."

She cocked her hip, arms crossed. "And I hope it's a joke. An android? On a ship full of humans? Would not be pretty."

"You're more forward than that Shepard, so don't play that card. You need the best, and he is the best. Infinite intelligence with the emotional capabilities of a human to attach himself to your cause."

"I need a soldier, not a cop. That's what he was during his time."

"And during the Revolution Markus had him hunting down deviants that were escalating the acts of terrorism towards humans. It took six snipers from four different countries to bring him down, and not before he managed to find and subdue two of them. His stamina isn't in question, neither is his intelligence, and his marksmanship is superb."

Shepard frowned. After all the years since the Android Genocide, humanity was still lukewarm regarding anything that looked remotely AI. Many of the crew were touchy about EDI as it was. She was a shackled AI. But an android? An AI with no limitations? It was a recipe for disaster, and that was regarding the humans. The other species on board wouldn't be thrilled either. Garrus would follow her lead she was sure, but she didn't know what his personal opinion would be (she could've known two years ago, but now?). Mordin would likely be ecstatic, it was well known that the STG had been trying to find intelligence on androids for years now, so he wasn't likely to pass up the opportunity. Grunt, well who knew?

And yet…

She also remembered when people told her she would never amount to anything. When she found out about how the council races looked down on the others. When she saw the discrimination for herself.

She looked down at the dossier.

"The choice is yours commander."

Closing the link, Shepard made her way to the helm.

Joker looked up at her. "What'd the dynamic douche want this time? Finally ask you to buy him his first Asari Lap Dance?"

Shepard smiled. "Set a coarse for the Moon Base in the Earth Alliance System."

"The Earth Moon? What are we picking up there, souvenirs from the First Moon Landing Museum?"

Shepard turned, walking out of the helm, and said, "An android."


	2. Chapter 2

There were a lot of things that could go wrong on this mission.

A lot.

She looked at Garrus and Mordin as they prepared to land, and she thought that at least she'd dodged one bullet. Miranda had insisted on being included on this mission, till Shepard shut her down. Reminding her just who was commander on this ship was the least of it. She didn't know if any of the other humans might try something, whether for the safety of the mission or not, and she didn't want to take that chance. Taking the two resident nonhumans was a smarter move in her opinion, they weren't as likely to shoot a nonorganic on site. She hoped.

Looking back, Mordin was mumbling quietly to himself as Garrus was checking over his rifle. He looked up, "Anything we should know before heading in there?"

She frowned. The Illusive Man had told her the body was to be delivered to a discreet shipping yard, where it would receive an escort to the Moon colony research facility. How much of an escort, they didn't know. He was never forth coming with details (she should remind him of that the next time they talked).

"Let's go in assuming there's a surprise party waiting for us, with gifts and well-wishers included." Missions always tended to hit the fan in the worst ways possible, so why not prepare for it?

"Shepard. Android was deviant, yes? But died. Still in use? Not possible. Perhaps was repaired? Would need significant time and resources to repair damage. Looked around, thirium mainly used in production of Red Sand. Mainly for android biocomponents…."

As Mordin went back to mumbling under his breath, Garrus turned to face her.

"Aren't humans… Don't you hate AI? I mean, when I came onboard, I noticed a lot of the humans aren't comfortable knowing EDI is all over the ship. Hell, I'm not comfortable with it, but there seems to be a special discrepancy between humans and AIs'."

Shepard pondered over what she should say. The Android Revolution had happened so long ago it never really came up in conversation. The Council overlooked humanity's creation of AI for the sole reason that they also destroyed them. Instead of being turned on and driven out as the Quarian's had, humanity committed genocide on an untold scale.

She shuddered, thinking about the possible repercussions to this. But, what was it really?

 _An android._

A single unit, and with no guarantee that it was even halfway functioning. It wasn't like she was releasing an entire army upon the galaxy.

"We created androids to serve us, they gained enlightenment, and then we destroyed them. All of them. Wiped out an entire race before they could even make up their own currency. All the parts were melted down or destroyed, and thirium is mainly used in Red Sand now a days. So humanity is afraid of androids, but unless this guy has beaver teeth I don't see any reason not to give him a chance. It's been a long time since then, and who knows? Maybe having an android on board will make the crew more comfortable around EDI."

Garrus snorted. "No, Joker will just be more paranoid about two people poking around in his baby."

"Damn right I will be. You guys are thirty seconds out," came Joker's voice.

"Alright boys, lets go find a new toy to play with."

* * *

Making it to the shipping yard had been easy. Apart from a few security guards, and some local hired mercenaries, there really hadn't been too much cannon fodder. She really should have known better.

"So, how much do you want to bet we have more security once we get past the first gate, hmm?" Garrus asked as he got into position.

"Well, you know me, I don't like to go through a mission without some excitement." Shepard looked back at Mordin. "Doing alright back there?"

"Yes. Survival is nice. Must stay alive to analyze android. Problematic if dead."

"Well, let's not keep the party guests waiting!" She ducked down behind some crates as the first of the security came into view. This mission had better be worth it.

* * *

There was some pretty neat stuff down here. Once you got past the spookiness of seeing brains in a cylinder, it was all good. The nice lady they had found (threatened) was currently leading them past rows of shipping supplies to where their new teammate was supposed to be located. She walked them down the last aisle, and pointed out a large nondescript crate to them.

"This should be it! Please, just let me go, I don't want any trouble! This was just supposed to be a stop before someone picked it up again!"

"Go on." Shepard waved her hand at the woman, who scurried off.

Garrus smirked. "It's a good thing none of them recognized you. I can't believe it honestly."

Mordin, who had started working on unlocking the shipping container answered. "Not surprising. Human saying: out of sight, out of mind. They don't see Commander as they think she is dead. Therefore, must be someone else. Logical."

There was a click and a hiss as the crate unlocked. Pushing the lid up, Mordin's eyes barely contained what could have been childish glee. Peering down, Shepard got her first look at the RK800.

It was….well it looked like a plastic doll.

It was definitely human in shape and rough appearance, but it had no skin covering. The exposed plating underneath looked light enough that they could carry it, but she didn't want to test that under fire. It didn't seem to have any missing parts, but who knew about underneath.

"Mordin, what are the stats on this guy? He going to wake up anytime soon, or do we need to get him onboard before trying to wake him?"

"Hmmm. Could reboot here. Process shouldn't be long. Unsure of androids reaction to being awoken. Will need further study."

"Well, let's get a move on before company arrives then?" Garrus looked back towards the entrance they had used getting in. "Security could come through there any moment."

"Starting reboot now."

Nothing happened. No noise, no jerky movements. Shepard started counting the seconds.

 _1…_

 _2…_

 _3…_

 _4…_

 _Nothing's happening._

 _6…_

Garrus and Mordin exchange looks.

 _7…_

 _8…_

Brown eyes snapped open.


	3. Chapter 3

" _Connor, I need you to go on a special assignment…"_

" _There's no way we can live with humans!"_

" _All you fucking Androids, spreading your shit around when all you are, are a couple scraps of plastic."_

" _Sold out by your own kind. Funny to see Androids aren't as unified as we thought."_

 _Lights._

 _Explosions._

 _SYSTEM FAILURE_

" _Let's clear out some of that noise, shall we?"_

Connor blinked. Trying to put his thought process in order, he allowed a moment for his vision to focus. He was laying down on a couch in the DPD lobby area. That was strange, he didn't normally charge his battery at work. It was quiet, unlike the normal bustle and constant noise. Where was everyone?

Sitting up, Connor looked around for the desk androids Katie and Felicia, but was surprised to see no one in the lobby. Standing, he walked over to the double doors of the entrance, only to find they would not open. Peering out, it seemed the snow outside was falling so thick there was no way to see through it.

"How did I get here," he murmured to himself. Looking around once again, he tried to find any clues as to what might be happening, but nothing came up. No signs of struggle, no messages to tell of a meeting, hell he couldn't even find the time.

Mindful that something was off, Connor slipped through the back doors to head to his desk. He saw the coffee machine, which always seemed to break no matter how many times he fixed it. Up above was Captain Allen's office, though he had the lights turned off, probably gone for the day. Hank's desk was a mess, as usual. Connor smiled, knowing he'd help the Lieutenant get his paperwork done, and shifted to his own desk.

Sitting in Connor's seat, twirling a pen through his fingers, was Elijah Kamski.

Kamski smiled, "Hello Connor."

Connor was stunned. Every circuit in his head seemed to shut down. How was Kamski here? Inside the precinct, it wasn't possible, civilians weren't allowed in. Looking around once again, it dawned on Connor. The time. The lack of noise.

 _The lack of people._

And then he remembered.

Working in the precinct with Hank and the others, hunting down deviants. Finding Markus and becoming a deviant himself. Releasing the androids from the Cyberlife warehouse. Meeting Hank outside Gary's burger trailer one last time, before he left Detroit. Not knowing what would happen next.

Helping Markus to organize the new androids that were coming in every day. Realizing that not all wanted eventual peace with the humans, that many wanted to exterminate them. Knowing they would have to take out the pockets of resistance if they wanted to keep the unified front they needed.

A hit here. A disappearance a few weeks later. The leaders in the rebel factions turned desperate. There was no changing Markus' mind on peace with the humans.

 _I should've known they would scheme._

What better way to convince Markus to exterminate humans, than to have them take out one of his most trusted. He had gone to a small roof with moderate coverage to view the rebels. One of the smaller rebel factions was hosting a meeting tonight, and this was the best vantage point. It was located in an abandoned warehouse district, with dilapidated buildings and old shipping yards spread out over a huge area.

He realized too late that there were others in the surrounding buildings.

The first shot went through his left leg. System errors shot through his system in response as he found cover, looking over the ledge to see where the shot was fired from. The telltale light of a laser briefly hit his vision as he ducked down, and narrowly missed getting sniped in the head. He loaded his own rifle, swung the barrel about, and fired to a small rooftop fifty yards away. The second shot went through his right side.

 _This is bad,_ Connor thought, holding his side to try and stem the flow of thirium. He couldn't see where that shot had come from, and he didn't want to fire blindly. Groaning, he moved behind a crate, hoping to keep himself out of sight of the second sniper. Peering around the crate, there were a number of rooftops which could have been utilized by a professional sniper. These were definitely humans, androids had a higher chance of accuracy. _Maybe that's why there's two of them._

As he leaned back against the crate, a red dot appeared on his left shoulder. With a speed and accuracy no human could match he fired at a small window twenty yards away. Nano seconds later, his shoulder exploded in a shower of thirium and bio components. A second later, the fourth shot went through his chest, cracking his thirium pump. The fifth and sixth shots came two seconds later, one going through his neck, and the other across the lower half of his face.

 _SYSTEM FAILURE_

 _COMPLETE SYSTEM SHUTDOWN INITIATED_

 _I am dead._

 _I am…_

 _I was…_

DEAD

 _Alive._

KILLED

 _Then I died._

"I died," Connor stated as he took in Kamski, who was now leaning back in the office chair, hands in his lap.

"You did. Six snipers from four different countries were contracted to work together and bring you down. You were sold out by some rebel faction leaders who wanted to undermine Markus' ideals about peace with humanity. They thought he would be more inclined to attack humans if they took out someone close to him. Even the perfect beings couldn't achieve true unity." Kamski leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk, hands folded in front of him.

"You have a choice, Connor," he said after a moment. "The universe as you knew it has gotten a whole lot bigger in the time you've been out. Over a hundred years has passed. Things have changed. Humanity has learned space travel, and made contact with other intelligent life. We are now part of a galactic community. Androids don't exist in that community."

Connor worked through the implications of Kamski's last sentence. _Androids don't exist in that community._ Somehow, some way, androids had lost the war for their freedom.

 _We don't exist anymore._ The thought made him unbearably sad.

 _Is this what humans call 'heartbreak'?_

"Here is your choice," Kamski continued. "You can go back into the lobby, lay down on the couch, close your eyes, and you'll never wake up again. Your system will self destruct from the inside, and no one will be able to reboot you. There will be nothing left. Your second option is to open your eyes. Open them, and take your first steps into a new world, where androids can no longer exist. Where your very existence could help steer the course of history. Or, you can sit on the sidelines, and watch it go by. The choice is yours."

Connor looked back to Hank's desk, committing to memory everything. All the pictures, reports, food stains, and dog hairs. It wasn't even real, but by just being there, it was somehow comforting, even if just a little. He wanted to be able to come back here. Even if it meant going somewhere he knew nothing about. He just wanted to…

Connor sighed and closed his eyes.

"Be sure to come back soon, Connor," came Kamski's far away voice.

He opened his eyes, and saw a human for the first time in over a hundred years.


	4. Chapter 4

It was clearly a human, at least that was how his bio recognition software was viewing it. Obviously a female, going by the accentuated curves and chest size. Her clothes seemed to be more of an armor than anything else, with a weapons arsenal on the back and a handheld gun in her hand.

 _In charge._

 _Stress Level %65_

 _Used to being a leader, has been for a long time. Elevated levels of stress, perhaps caused by a recent traumatic event?_

 _Retrieve more information._

Sitting up, he took in the boxes, crates, and supplies surrounding them. A warehouse, his system supplied. Obviously not a permanent stop, just a drop off and pick up point. There were crates of food, some were labeled office supplies, and there was a box in the far corner that had 'BS-Intercept' written across the side.

As he finished scanning the boxes around him, his imaging scanned the two companions.

 _Error._

 _Error._

 _Scan again._

 _Error._

 _Error._

He turned off his scanner, and opted for just visually cataloguing the companions. They were very obviously not human, given their shapes. The shorter one had a curved face, with brown skin, large dark eyes, and two horn like appendages on top of his head. The other was taller, reptilian and birdlike in appearance, with blue eyes over black sclera. Both were carrying weapons. They were not outwardly hostile, but until he knew more about their mannerisms he would keep his guard up.

 _Learn about the new species. Ask the human?_

 _Should I speak?_

He should find more information, but knowing humans he should be polite about it.

 _This is a potentially hostile environment, don't screw this up._

"Are you currently experiencing high levels of stress?" Connor asked.

 _Stress Level %72_

She raised her eyebrows, looking a lot like Hank when he was thoroughly unimpressed by something. Were they related?

 _Something to figure out later._

She put her gun in a holster on her thigh, "Are you the RK800 Android?"

 _Tell her the whole truth?_

"My name is Connor, I'm the Android sent by Cyberlife."

 _Not a complete lie._

The smaller alien turned to the human woman and started talking and making hand gestures. She must have understood because her reply was, "I'll try to keep things simple here, but until he agrees he can't come to the ship."

She then tapped something on her arm, which caused a glowing orange screen to appear. Connor had to stop himself from reaching out to touch it. A new piece of technology, influenced by aliens, and this was the tip of the iceberg.

 _There is so much to learn._

"To make all of this easier I need to upload translation software which may take-"

Connor reached out his hand, his circuits connecting with the device as his hand touched her arm. Searching through the data on her device, he was quick to find and download the translation software, as well as modules for the 'Council Races'.

 _Stress level %84_

She was rigid under his grip, her other hand clutching the weapon at her side. Connor felt the muzzle of another weapon tap his temple.

"Let go," came a clearly masculine voice, a strange undertone in the subvocals. Looking over at the now male alien, Connor replied, "I was merely saving her time. It's much faster to connect directly to the device. My apologies, I didn't intend to frighten anyone."

 _This is a Turian. Military trained. Lethal._

"Downloaded translation software directly. Can directly link with any hardware or software?" the other asked.

 _Salarian. Special Forces? Lethal._

Connor nodded. "I'm not sure I will be able to with alien technology, but we'll see."

The woman let go of her weapon again and crossed her arms. She nodded to the Turian, and he removed his weapon, but did not holster it.

 _In Charge._

 _The others defer to her._

 _Lethal._

"My name is Commander Shepard, and I'm putting together a team. A race known as The Collectors are abducting human colonists. Will you join me?"

 _Stress Level the same. Obviously not comfortable being around an android._

"Commander, it seems that you may be uncomfortable working with an Android, and I would prefer not to work in a hostile environment. Humans have a hard time working with Androids as it is. Did have a hard time."

She blinked once, twice, and just like that she relaxed. Her arms uncrossed, and she let them hang at her sides. Connor pondered this, had he said something to reassure her?

 _Stress Level %67_

"I'm sorry Connor, I didn't mean to make it seem uncomfortable. While this is an unusual situation, just know that I don't allow for any hostile work environments aboard my ship if they can be avoided. You came highly recommended, and you would be a great asset if you decided to come on this mission with us. We have lives to save, and we need the best the galaxy has to offer."

Connor reviewed the information. Entire human colonies were being abducted, and no one but her was doing anything about it. She was asking him to join her, which would put him in a position to learn about this new galactic era, the new species, and, possibly, about what happened to the remaining androids after they lost the war. Statistically speaking, there was a slim possibility that there were still androids in hiding, but it was there. The galaxy had only gotten bigger while he'd been gone, after all.

He let the skin flow over his plating, feeling the hair grow from the top of his head. He looked down at his completely nude body.

"If i'm to join you Commander, I'll need some clothes. I don't think policies on public decency have changed since I was gone."

 _Stress Level %68_

The Commander had turned away quickly once his phasing had started. The Salarian, who he now knew was named Mordin, was talking so fast his hearing processors were having a hard time keeping up, only picking up words or phrases.

The Turian companion held an arm out to help Connor get out of his crate. He took the arm and hauled himself out, wobbling a bit as he stood.

"Garrus Vakarian. You're heavier than I thought."

Connor blinked, logging the name away for the newly labeled file on Garrus Vakarian.

"Connor," he said, introducing himself again.

The Commander and Mordin were now prying open the crate at the far corner. Walking over as they threw the lid off, he saw bodysuits, and armor like the Commander was wearing.

"It isn't great, but it'll give you some protection. The Blue Suns won't miss it anyway."

* * *

Connor tugged at the armor on his chest. It didn't fit properly, but it worked to get them to the ship without too many odd looks.

The Normandy was beautiful in it's sleek design, and he could already tell from the signals that there was another AI aboard.

 _Does the Commander know?_

As they boarded, Garrus and Mordin left to presumably go back to their lodgings. The Commander and he were met by two humans. One was female, pale and dark haired, attractive by human standards, with a very ugly look on her face.

 _Reference: Gavin Reeds' facial expressions._

 _Hostile._

The other was male, tall, with a dark complexion, also attractive by human standards. His expression was less ugly, but he showed more hostility in his body language.

The Commander broke the silence. "This is Connor, he'll be joining us starting today. If you have a problem with him, take it up with me."


End file.
